Objective: To explore the correlation between Chinese Visceral Adiposity Index (CVAI) and Cognitive Impairment (CI), and further analyze the correlation between CVAI and CI under different age levels. To provide evidence for accurately evaluating the relationship between CVAI and CI,and seeking for clinically relevant, non-invasive factors associated with CI. Methods: The CHARLS database was used in this study. And the baseline data were collected of 2011 and 2015, including gender, age, education level, alcohol consumption, smoking history, body mass index and biochemical indicators. Spearman correlation analysis was used analyze the association of CVAI and CI. Logistic regression analysis was used for multivariate analysis. Results: 1. A total of 12102 subjects were included in this study, 1295 (10.7%) were cognitive impairment. 2. There was a correlation between CVAI and CI in people aged 65 and above (p<0.05), but no significant correlation between CVAI and CI in people aged below 65(P>0.05); 3. The best cut-off value of CVAI for CI was 161.94, and the cut-off value was divided into high CVAI group (CVAI≥161.94) and low CVAI group (CVAI<161.94). 4. After adjusting for confounding factors, age was positively correlated with CI (OR=2.24,95%CI：1.66~3.03), education level was negatively correlated with CI (OR=0.71,95%CI：0.53~0.94), and high CVAI was negatively correlated with CI in people aged 65 and above(OR=1.42,95%CI：1.04~1.93), the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05); Conclusions: 1. Visceral fat index, age and education were correlated with cognitive impairment; 2. High visceral fat index is a risk factor for cognitive impairment in people 65 years and older.